Car Part Sculptor

Author: James Corbett

Well there has been a fair bit of water under the bridge since my last post. Biggest news is that my wife Jodie has just launched her website www.thesculptorswife.com She has set up an online shop to sell high quality limited edition prints of my sculptures. They look excellent! They come in two standard sizes, but can be special ordered in lager sizes. Have a look at her site.

SQUARE PRINTS

RECTANGLE PRINTS

MORE PRINTS

The other thing that she will be selling is my long awaited book. It is still a couple of months away, but I have devoted a fair chunk of time toward it over the last few months. This sort of thing actually takes a lot more time than you might realise. I have hundreds and hundreds of images of my sculptures. Picking out my favourites has been bad enough, but then placing them in a balanced and pleasing manner has been a challenge. On top of that I have written out quite a few of my thoughts about being an Artist, and about how I go about my work. It is a bit confidence boosting to go through all those photos. It was nice to take some time to remind myself of some of the nice pieces I’ve made. Here are a couple of them….. Just for your entertainment.

STEEPLE CHASER

MARMON WASP

WILD BOAR HEAD SHOT

August seems like a long time ago now, but that was when we travelled to Bruges in Belgium for my exhibition at nearby Knokke. Bruge was a lovely place to stay. A little crowded in the centre, but beautiful, and you only need to go a little way away from the centre and it is very quiet. By all reports the beach at Knokke was not as crowded as it should have been. All I can say is that the beaches there, and the way people use them, is very different from the beach here. The beach is covered with little private hut things, pop up restaurants, noisy bars, and large inflatable animals. I think we are spoilt by our beaches where I live.

EXHIBITION BY THE BEACH

In one of my earlier posts, I made reference to Jodie wanting to ride a Vespa scooter around in rural Italy. Well we didn’t get to Italy but we did manage to hire a Vespa in Bruge. Disappointingly they wouldn’t let Jodie have one of her own. The fellow was very laid back but was not convinced that she had enough experience. She rode pillion behind me until we got out into the countryside, on the fantastic little roads and canal paths, and then I let her take control while I sat on the back. I wasn’t even scared. There just needed to be a few more Italians around and we could have ticked a box for her. It was a really fun day.

Actually I loved the bike culture there, and even more so in Amsterdam. We had a few days there recovering from the loooonnng flight before driving down to Bruge. It is fantastic to see everyone of all ages on their pushbikes, and the car drivers are respectful of their presence, not resentful like they can be here. I guess that is because everyone that drives a car probably also rides a bicycle. You can see the kids and teenagers there are so independent, getting themselves around with their sports gear or such. It is easy and safe for them to get from one side of town to the other. None of the queues of SUVs transporting kids from school to sport to home. It was really refreshing.

A BIKE BLENDS IN

AMSTERDAM SOCCER MUM

My latest bike sculpture was a Dakar Rally Raid bike. In Belgium I sold a sculpture of a Flat Track Bike to a very nice fellow who had actually raced a bike several times in the Dakar when it was still in Africa. He did it Iron Man style with no support. This has to be one of the toughest sporting challenges left in the world. If you have never tried to hang on to a bucking dirt bike for hours, and drag it out of a bog or push it on a rocky hill side you could never understand how fatiguing it must be. I have done these things and I am in complete awe of how they can do this all day, and sometimes all night, for days on end. And remember a lack of concentration will almost certainly mean injury or worse. We had a great conversation about dirt bikes and buggy racing even though we could not speak each others language. Our gesticulating would have been very amusing from a distance.

DAKAR BIKE

In November I have another Exhibition with John Davies Gallery in Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds. It is a few years since I have done a show with John, so I am looking forward to it. Put it in your diary.

At last I’m getting to another post! I have had plenty going on as usual. I have just finished two life sized pieces for Sydney Motorsport Park. This is a fitting permanent home for some of my work. I am hoping that their patrons will get a bit of a kick out of my racers. The two pieces go together to portray a race between an early vintage three wheeled Morgan, and a similarly early era racing motorcycle. These pieces are at the same time, both very different to my normal subjects, yet are still very much my signature style of subject. Early Bikes and Three Wheelers are some of my favourite subjects, but this is only the second time I have done a car sculpture even close to this scale, and the motor bike is a first. Things on this scale are harder than they look.

The Racing Morgan

To make these pieces work, I had to find a balance between using real car bits in the right places, and using other wrong car bits not in the right places. I couldn’t have it looking like a real car, but nor did I want it looking like little bits of junk welded together to give the shapes. It could easily end up an unappealing mess. I decided to make some parts of the finished product relatively ‘ normal ‘ car and make other parts the artistic features. The engine, the tyres, and of course the driver were to be the features. It always tests your brain a bit working to a scale different to what you have become used to, and this means thinking about a whole set of parts that I would not use in a smaller car sculpture. The trade off ‘easy bit ‘ to this scale is that I can easily get a volunteer to model the driver or rider’s posture and dimensions.

Tom the Artist’s Model

Jodie the Artist’s Model

I get in on the act. It actually felt pretty comfy. I wished it could go.

I had a bit of fun with the details on these large scale works. The ‘ Turbo engine in the Morgan ‘ is literally a turbo, the ‘ Gear Box ‘ on the bike is a box of gears, and the gauge on the bike reads decibels. Back in the day, real race bikes would have had no problem registering lots of them. I also had some fun with the rider’s shoes. I noticed that in some of the old photos of these guys at Brooklands they are racing in lace up dress shoes. Probably their only pair of shoes, made to last by a skilled tradesman.

The real rider

Bike detail

Morgan detail

Going for a ride

In August I will be having my first Solo Exhibition with Robinson’s art gallery in Knokke Belgium. The show opens on Saturday the 12th. If you are in that part of the world please come and have a look. There will be some very nice pieces in the exhibition

My lounge room full of sculptures waiting to be sent to Belgium.

‘ Obsolete Machine ‘ 1 and 2

Number 15

Assorted Circus Performers

Lady Shopper

I often get asked if I draw my sculptures before making them. Generally the answer is no. Usually I just get a firm picture in my mind of what I want to achieve. My mind’s picture is probably about the imagining the subject’s character more than how the resulting sculpture will look. On occasions though, I will do some very quick sketches to firm up the subject’s stance in my mind. Really basic. Here is one for the ‘ Obsolete Machine.’

My ‘ Obsolete Machine ‘ thinking with a pen.

The result !

A random dog idea

Drawing is something that I like to do, but rarely find the time. One day I will make time to do some paintings. One day out of the blue I’ll put together an exhibition of Motor Racing inspired two dimensional art….Just because I want to……Maybe. Oddly, even though I usually don’t for sculptures, I think I would do preliminary sketches of paintings. Below are some I did in my little note book that I record my sculpture dimensions in. Like doodling in your school books.

Oldfield’s Blitzen Benz

Auto Unions

One more note on old car stuff. My T Model Speedster project got moved from one shed to the other to make some room for me to build the Morgan and Bike. It was nice to see it from further away than two metres. It is also the first time that I had fitted those big skinny wire wheels. I got all very enthused. After the DS is finished maybe.

Speedster….sort of

” Orang Utang “

This life sized Orang-Utan is back at Michael Commerford’s Sydney Gallery. She features a 1930’s De Soto grill and lots of other interesting parts. A nice big sculpture.

Well, Happy Christmas everyone. Another year done, and another long overdue post from me. I hope some of you are still bothering to check on this page every so often, in the vain hope that I will have put up something new for you to see. I won’t bore you with the same old excuses, but I will say that at times 2016 has been very challenging for me personally. Probably one of the two hardest years that I have had since becoming a sculptor full time sixteen years ago. Back in 2008 we had the GFC and everyone stopped buying everything. In 2016 people buying my works was not the problem. It was me making them. After doing this for eighteen years, and always going flat out, trying to keep my galleries happy, and being me, never wanting to say ‘ no ‘ to any exhibition or commission……I hit the wall.

I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had to have a break….or at least take it a bit slower until I could get my head back in the sort of space it needed to be. I like to work fast. I had to learn to work a bit slower. I still made some nice pieces but I had to learn to slow down. A lesson learnt.

Green Grasshopper

Here are a few more recent pieces. I have always liked Board Track Racing bikes as subjects, and have wanted to do a Sidecar Board racer for some time. This is a reasonably large piece and I liked it a lot. Those tyres are headlight rims from 1940s Ford army trucks. They are perfect for that.

Board Track Sidecar Racer

Continuing with the theme, Vintage Racing Machines, here is another early Brooklands style racer. When I struggle to create a nice piece, my fall back is always one of these early racers. I have an affinity with them that builds my confidence in what I can do. Self confidence in what you can do is a really important part of being an Artist. This piece

is 95 cm long and available through Michael Commerford Gallery in Sydney.

Longtail Brooklands Racer

Red Vespa

I had a bit of fun making this one. My wife Jodie wants to ride one of these things around the villages of rural Italy.

Our sons are horrified at the thought.

Coming up with a subject can sometimes be difficult. Sometimes the parts inspire me and other times it is just things around me. Just down the road from my home is quiet beach. Not a classically beautiful Australian beach, but a nice place to walk. Our old dog loved it when he was alive. This beach has thousands of Soldier Crabs. Fantastically alien looking little crabs about 25mm in size. Mine was much, much, bigger than that. Those blue bits are VW Beetle tail light housings.

Soldier Crab

The inspiration

One of the other things that made this year difficult was the loss of my father. He did not have an artistic bone in his body, but was always proud of whatever I did. He had suffered with deteriorating dementia for more than a decade and never really got to understand the success that I have had. He died on his eighty second birthday. Thanks Dad, for everything, and Rest In Peace.

My Dad a long time ago

Right now I have some some fresh pieces in an Exhibition with Robinson’s Art Gallery in Knokke Heist, Belgium. I have a Great Dane Dog there that I really like, and some other very nice pieces, including a nice big Tricolour Rooster inspired by the French Rugby Team Mascot. The Green Octopus is another of my favourites there.

Great Dane Dog

Tricolor Rooster

Green Octopus

Getting nice old characterful parts is not always easy. I almost had a great opportunity a few months back, even if it came about in a bit of a sad way. Back when I used to deal in second hand french car parts, before I had discovered that I could make these sculptures, I knew a chap that had a small scrap yard and workshop, full of classic french cars. What had been a successful business many years ago slowly turned turned into a hoarding disorder for this man until eventually he could not bear to sell anything. Over the years everything turned to junk, and the business that didn’t sell anything ate away his life savings and assets. His premises got repossessed and sold, complete with all the junk. The new owners wanted the rubbish gone. I spent a day there clambering amongst the wrecks getting bits and pieces, too far gone for any restoration use. When I had finished the new owner asked a silly four figure sum for a van load of rubbish. I didn’t go back for another shafting. It will all be bulldozed by now. What a shame.

Sad Peugeot 203. Part of a sad story.

On a brighter note the one thing I found there that was actually not junk, was a spare front bumper for my Citroen DS Safari restoration. I had to remove it from a rusty sedan, on it’s belly, in long grass, with it’s front up against a fence. What fun that wasn’t. Every time I wanted to give up, I had to remind myself how rare a straight one of these is. My DS has progressed quite well, and was good therapy when I was having my ” writer’s block.” I need to do the interior next. Hopefully I can fit air conditioning to it.

Well it is official. I hate computers. It has taken me quite some time, months in fact, to work out how to get back into my site to add another post. I am a pretty instinctive person and can work most things out, but for some reason I just have no feel for these wretched machines. My son looks at me like I am simple. Anyway, that is my excuse this time…..But as usual I have still been very busy.

Since my last post I have been busy making a commissioned Dragon from new parts for a Car Parts supply company. That was a little different, because I was more limited with available shapes than is usual, and all the parts came in boxes, and so I couldn’t get much of a feel for what I had to work with when I was forming ideas.

Lots of boxes

Turned into a Dragon

In the lead up to Christmas I had a half dozen pieces with a new ( to me ) gallery in Belgium that was having a ” Wheeled themed Exhibition “. This was Robinson’s Art gallery in Knokke Zoute. It looks like I will be doing some more work with them later in the year. Here are a couple of the pieces that sold there.

I love the Blitzen Benzes

The Giant Racing Fiats are always a favourite of mine

They still have a few more pieces available should you be in that part of the world.

The other thing that is happening this week is the opening of my latest Exhibition at Coda Gallery in Palm Desert California. It opens this weekend and I have a lot of nice pieces there. The Polar Bear Cubs that have been displayed at the Philadelphia Zoo are for sale in this exhibition. You can read about them in my earlier posts. Unfortunately I will not make the opening this time due to my wife being a little unwell. A pity. The people are always friendly there, and the light and shadows on the mountains are beautiful. We will make it there for the next one. Actually a really moving thing happened at one of my previous exhibition openings at Coda. Jodie and I were talking with guests and visitors to the gallery as is usual, when I spoke with an Aboriginal lady, I suspect the only Aboriginal lady in Palm Desert, who had been passing by and was drawn in by my work in the window. When I spoke, she quietly gasped, ” Your Australian ” and began to cry. She had married an American serviceman visiting Australia when she was very young, and never had the opportunity to return home. The sound of our accents ( Jodie’s is stronger than mine ) triggered some sort of really strong emotion. All three of us teared up. As it turned out she had grown up very near to where Jodie did. We had a nice chat and she said that she was so, so happy that she had decided to come into the gallery and get a little taste of home. You can see all of the works on Coda’s website, but here are a few.

Walt

Blue Flat track Racer

Skier

Mercedes Light Penguin

Langhorne Racer

American Cruiser

” Orang Utang ” Lifesized Coda Gallery U.S.A.

On other things, all my flooring is done. So foolishly, I celebrated by buying another old car. After justifying if to myself by reminding myself that our other cars only have two seats, and grand children might be on the horizon, and I don’t like Jodie’s car being in shopping centre car parks, and …and..etc. The truth is that I was inspired by reading Andre Lefebvre’s biography, and decided that what I really needed in my life was a Citroen DS Safari wagon. I wonder about myself sometimes. They are pretty rare now, but I did find a relatively rust free example, in a really really ugly faded dirty beige colour.The rust free bit did not include the relatively rust full tailgates, and right hand doors. As you do with these things, I have shed some blood pulling it apart, so that I can then shed more blood to reassemble it in a much more attractive manor.

Floors done, what over ambitious project next?

I know, an old worn out version of the world’s most complicated and rust prone car

Well Spring is here for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere. The good thing is that the weather is beautiful, and I love the annual return of the Black Cockatoos that swoop around late each afternoon, before settling in our trees for the night. I don’t know what it is about these big birds, but their lazy flapping motion, and their loud, shrill, but somehow soft whistling call, always relaxes me. I get a sort of feeling like the world is right when they return each year. The strange noise they make once they are settled in a tree is not so comforting, but it is unique. A sort of cross between a cat purring and a two stroke engine.

Black Cockatoo outside my shed

The thing I don’t like about Spring is that I start to dread the coming summer. I really hate sweating away behind a welding mask in my shed. If I wear long sleeves it can be stifling. If I wear short sleeves I visualise my arms covered in skin cancers. I have already had a few of them cut out. I can’t have a fan pointed at me because the welding gas gets blown away from the nozzle. The sweat runs into your eyes, your shirt ends up drenched. I hate the summer in my shed. Oh and some of the other wild life that gets into my shed at this time of the year is not so relaxing. The occasional deadly snake and the rather common nasty spider. Any way the weather is beautiful now.

The Perth show has been very successful, so thanks to everyone at Linton and Kay gallery. Next up for me is another exhibition with Michael Commerford Gallery, in Edgecliffe, Sydney. This is my home gallery if you like, and I’ve been showing there since 2000. Jodie especially, is looking forward to another few days in Sydney. She loves those areas around that beautiful harbour. The show opens on the evening of October 8, but the sculptures should be there a couple of days before that. The full details of the work should be up on Michael’s website by the end of the week before, but here are a few of the pieces that I will have there.

Brooklands streamlined Bike

Dachshund

Lucille

Toucan

Green Dustbin Fairing Racer

This is the third Dustbin Fairing G.P. bike that I’ve made. I really like the character of them. Each of them has been different and a different colour to boot. The first with a Maroon flash went to the U.S., the second with a pastel blue flash has a home in England, and now some one here has a chance to grab this one. I could easily keep this piece.

Green Penguin

The Old Dog

People often ask me what inspires the piece. Some times it is because I see an animal or car or bike or something, and the character of it just appeals to me. Other times I see a shape, or colour, of a part, and that dictates what I will do with it. The Old Dog, you know the grey muzzled ones you see going for a slow determined walk, with short little steps, on stiff legs. He will look up at you, moving his eyes only, presumably because his thick neck is no longer flexible enough. He is an example of the former. As are the Bikes. The Seal and the Toucan are the result of what I see in the part. The Seal is a very simple piece for me, and I really like it when I can achieve a good sculpture simply. Not easy to do. It has Parts from 1950 Holdens, an even older MG, an exhaust from a Motocross bike, and some brake pads. I don’t use a lot of Bike parts, but I bought a box of these exhausts and one of them said ” Seal” to me. The Toucan is pretty obvious but a little unusual for me in that I have used a non car or bike part,…And as a feature at that. I just really liked that old red scythe and wanted to use it in something. Another piece that I made recently, and which will be in Sydney, was inspired in a completely different way. Last year when leading a race in my Formula Ford, a young driver with visions of glory made a clumsy passing effort. The result was a 150 kph flip for me. I was left with no shortage of broken race car parts, and from these, I made a Goose in memory of this unfortunate event. The result is this piece called ” Wade “. Almost made entirely from busted race car bits. I don’t want to think what this piece cost me.

Well it’s been months since my last post. Obviously I’ll just have to accept that I’m just plain inconsistant. But as usual I have been busy, so that will be my excuse yet again. The second of my large commissions destined for the U.S. is now complete and installed. This one is in Seattle. It is of a chap riding a bicycle with his Alaskan Malamute dog running alongside. I think these dogs are the mascot for their big football team over there. I found a nice old bike frame at the local tip, made some steel tyres out of timing chains, and removed all the spokes to create the movement. Actually I really liked the old bike, and got a bit tempted to keep it and put it back into service. It looked pretty cool to me. But then I’m always wanting to adopt old mechanical things. If it has wheels even better.

Rider and Malamute

This piece was quite a challenge, and I had a couple of efforts at the rider’s head before I was happy. The other tricky bit with this piece was trying to build in the strength that it needed, but still keep the light look of the bicycle. The spark plug jumper made him rather top heavy. Does everyone else use the term ‘ jumper ‘ for a heavy woollen pullover, or is that just us antipodeians.

Malamutes are big dogs

On the spark plug theme, I also had a commission for another Ram. These are pretty time consuming, but always come together well. Spark plugs and Sheep go together like Strawberries and Cream. Who would have thought…..Oh hang on, I did. I must say a big thank you to the mechanics, that have been keeping their old spark plugs aside for me. Most of them have not even seen what I can do with them, but they just do it because some guy has asked them to. It really is good, that most people are just helpful if they can be. Even if they perhaps think I might be a bit odd.

Ram going for a Van ride

The other things keeping me busy are two upcoming exhibitions. The first will open september 8 at ‘Linton and Kay Gallery’ in Perth. These pieces are there now, so if you are in that part of the world go and have a look. I will be following that up a month later with another exhibition with ‘Michael Commerford Gallery’ at Edgecliffe in Sydney’s east. Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to the opening of the ‘Linton and Kay’ show. Hopefully I will get there for the next one.

Here is an example of how things evolve. Who can guess where this is headed…………………….

I was not sure myself that this was going where I wanted. But it worked out in the end. You can see it at ‘ Linton and Kay Gallery’, and if you guessed right you’ll know that it is indeed a Kangaroo.

Here are a few more pieces that will be in the Perth show this coming month……….Check out their website.

The other thing that has been keeping me busy is our house. I have fitted a new kitchen and 90 sqm of timber flooring. Oh, and painting. One more thing I did on a whim, was to whip up a new kitchen table. Not that we needed one. It’s just that I came across some old Brickies planks destined for the tip, and thought ‘ I know what I’m doing with them’. Did I write something earlier along the lines of, ‘ if it has wheels all the better.’ Yes this picture is between floor coverings. A look that I rather like, but hey I’ve already had the floor boards. That is a part of the huge stack of them in those boxes in the top right of this photo. They had been there in the middle of the room for longer than I can admit to…..But I had Spark Plugs to weld. The floor is pretty well wooded now.

Have I justifed how busy I’ve been yet? Can I throw in our eldest son’s wedding. How about repairing my Formula Ford racing car after being forced off the track at 180 kph when someone didn’t see me. Always reassuring that. Actually after I did repair it, I competed at a round of the Australian Formula Ford series. Something that I don’t normally do. They have two classes in the same race, the more powerful Fiesta engined cars and the traditional Kent engined cars. I managed to be fastest Qualifyer in the Kent class. Real happy with that at 52 years of age. Didn’t quite have the speed in the races but still finished second for the weekend. The other ‘ Car thing ‘ of note was taking my beloved Porsche 356A coupe to the biggest sports car show in these parts. ‘ Audrey ‘ as she is known in our family, named after Audrey Hepburn, won best of show for pre 1970 sports cars. The biggest class of the show! A very big surprise as it is a rare thing for me to take her to a car show. And then she got the job of delivering Kelsey, our new daughter in law to the big ceremony…….just as she did with Bec, our first daughter in law last year.

Well I’ve been a bit silent for the last few months, something I had hoped would not happen on this new site. There has been plenty going on since my last post. We have had a nice visit to the U.K. and Switzerland, and unusually made a little time to have a look in a few galleries in London. I find the galleries themselves are often as interesting as the work in them. Some are very welcoming and enjoyable, others are rather intimidating and disdainful of your presence. Not sure how the later equates to making sales. When you leave they probably justify themselves with, ” I knew they were not buyers “. You probably leave with the thought ” I wouldn’t buy anything off them”. Perhaps if the work is strong enough it doesn’t matter. As a whole we really enjoyed our few days in inner London using the City Cycles to get around. Cycling at night in the quieter streets of a big famous old city is one of those things that makes me feel young again. Like a kid on adventure. I really enjoyed the old time atmosphere ( when I could block the crowds out in my mind ) of the Museum of Natural History. The building itself is such a spectacular tribute to the way such projects were treated back then. Indeed to how important it’s contents were regarded. The variety of detail in the stone work is astounding. Some of the exhibits look their age but that is the charm of this place. The very old display of Australian animals was obviously created by a taxidermist that had never seen the real thing, and had us laughing out loud, but I got a real kick out of that ” time capsule from another era ” vibe. Every one has so much world wide knowledge available to them now. Back then a drawing from a possibly dubious artist was all you knew. And only then if you were in the right circles. I hope the place never changes.

Of course the main reason to be in England was my Exhibition with John Davies Gallery in the Cotswolds. One again we very much enjoyed being in that part of the world, although I must admit sales were a bit slower than is usual. Not sure why, the exhibition looked fantastic, but I suppose if it were easy everyone would be doing it. On the opening weekend I had a very enjoyable chat with Mick Walsh from Classic and Sports Car magazine. He obviously likes art, knows about more than cars and is one of the few people in the world that I would like to swap jobs with for a while.

After leaving England we made a quick detour down to Stuttgart and Switzerland. When you are this far from home you have to make it count. Stuttgart produced two surprises for me. One pleasant, and one not so. I’ll save the pleasant one for last. For those of you that may not know, Stuttgart is the home of Porsche, and more specifically the Porsche Museum. As the owners of a 356A coupe and a 3.2 Carrera this museum was the reason for our one day and two nights in Stuttgart. Guess what was closed for that day……Nothing for it, but to spend the day with Jodie looking in shoe shops and the Christmas Markets. Actually the old undercover food market was really good. The very pleasant surprise was stumbling upon a somewhat disorganised shop that sells automotive art including originals by Alfredo De La Maria, one of the world’s best in this field. I was enthralled to be able to study these works in person having only seen photos previously. And then, in walks Alfredo himself, visiting from Argentina. We had a good chat about his work and cars etc. and then went on our way. A nice surprise.

We returned home just in time for christmas and a break to overcome the jetlag before diving back into the hunt for sparkplugs. An amazing thing happened. I was down at a mate’s auto recycling business when an old customer calls and says that he has closed down an Auto Parts Store some years ago and still has “ute load”( a ute is a small pick up truck for you guys not in Oz ) of new old stock sparkplugs!!! There turned out to be nearly 10,000 of them, all still individually wraped and boxed, then boxed in bigger water damaged boxes of ten, then boxed in cartons. A very,very, reasonable price was accepted and Jodie and I have spent many hours unwrapping them. The Polar Bear Cubs are now done and in the hands of the Philadelphia Zoo. Their Second Nature exhibition opens in the early part of next month.

It is a relief to have them safely at their new home, for the next six months anyhow. We’ll see where they go after that.

When I started doing this blog late last year I also threatened to add the odd reference to my ” petrol headedness “. In Feburary my son Thomas and I got to race our Formula Ford cars at the famous Mt Panorama circuit at Bathurst. In Australia it’s a big deal to race at this place that is considered to be one of the three greatest driving tracks in the world. The Nurburgring and Spa being the other two. It is 6.2 kilometres around and has an elevation change of 174 metres, that is nearly 600 feet. In our cars all but 6 of the 21 corners are blind, either because of walls on the apexes or because of the elevation changes, or both. It is a very tricky place to learn and get confident at, and as a support class you get very limited time to practice. A walk around the track has you wondering what on earth you are doing there. Even the straights have little hills that make the cars feel spooky as you crest them. Top speed on the straight bits and through the fastest corner was 233kph, while the blind sweepers over the top, once you get confident, are taken at nearly 190. It is a fourteen hour drive for us to get there, but after your first flying lap you know it was worth the effort. Ever wondered what it would be like to drive a race car over a small mountain pass?…With 49 others. I ended up 12th, Tom made it to 7th in race one, but had a battery failure on the first lap of race two. For a newbie with no data he really impressed me. His race one lap times had him on course for a battle for the minor placings with some very experienced racers in that second race. Hopefully we will get to go back there.

Here are a couple of my latest pieces. The first is an Ice Skater that is about 55 cms tall and 93 cms long. I created a life sized one of these a few years ago. These are a fun subject. It is really important to try and portray the speed and power of these guys. They are impressive on Winter Olympics TV broadcasts, so they must be quite something in real life. Not two much of this goes on in my neck of the woods, but I might see them one day. There are bits of old Morris Minors, a VW Beetle, EH and HQ Holden Citroen CX and lots of other cars in this piece.

Flat Tracker Number 7

Flat tracker Number 7

This Seventies Flat Track Racer is 65 cms long. These bikes are very cool, and always remind me of the old ” On Any Sunday “film that mesmerized me as a kid. I often seem to pick motor racing subjects that are fast and evil. Don’t know why that is.

Red Shouldered Bastard Beetle No 2

Three or four years ago I bought a box of Ford Zephyr tail lights. Since then I’ve done a series of Zephyr Beetles, all different but similar. This is the fourth and latest, and the second to be red. My wife is very found of her Rose Garden, but came home one day to find her plants decimated. Investigations found the culprits to be a swarm of Red Shouldered Beetles. Henceforth known by my wife as ” The Red Shouldered Bastard Beetles “. This title, rather than the actual Beetle, which strangely, is more yellow than red, was the inspiration for two of my Zephyr Beetles. These three new pieces are going to Michael commerford gallery in sydney, and will be there in a few days. Go in and see them, as Michael gets very sad when I send a bunch of pieces away to an exhibition in another country.

Behind the Scenes, Photo time

I’ve been creating my sculptures full time for 14 years now, and in that time all of the studio photography of my has been done by Steve Baker of Montrose Photos. Thanks Steve. I’m always his lighting assistant during my shoots. We’ve got it down pat pretty well now. I’ve got lots and lots of fantastic images now. I need to put a book together to recoup some of what I’ve spent. At the beginning of each of the last few years, I have set that book as one of my goals for the coming year. Guess what….No book yet. Too many sculptures to make. Maybe 2015.

I spent yesterday driving around Brisbane picking up old spark plugs. A bad day for it really. A month ago I had left lots of buckets at various Car dealers and Mechanical Workshops for them to throw their old plugs into for me. What I didn’t realise until I got to the other side of town yesterday was how much damage had been inflicted on some of these areas by a severe thunder storm the previous afternoon. I hope everyone can get on top of the damage quickly.

Why am I collecting spark plugs ? For Polar Bear fur of course! I have a commission to create two, year old Cubs for the Philidelphia Zoo’s upcoming ” Second Nature ” sculpture exhibition. Their goal with this show is to highlight the plight of wildlife, that is suffering due to the effects of manufacturing, the processing of raw materials, and the waste of a consumer culture is having on the environment. One of the issues is Global Warming. Having just endured the hottest November on record, topped off with a ” Mega Storm ” it’s had not to believe that it is not a serious consideration. Being a car enthusiast, I can’t say that I don’t create a few greenhous gasses, but I really do think that we should all consider how long something that we buy will last, and not just buy on price, with the assumption that we can just buy another when it breaks. Everything that is made uses raw materials and energy, and most probably creats some pollution in it’s manufacturing. Consider buying one good thing instead of four throw aways over the same time. The Second Nature Exhibition will be made up of works utilising recycled, or repurposed materials, by artists from many parts of the world. As usual it will be down to the wire for me to have the Bears done in time. Getting enough Spark Plugs in a short space of time has me a bit panicked. I think I need about 5000 of them….which is about 3000 more than I have now!

My name ” Up in Lights ” Moreton-in-Marsh Style

I am looking forward to being Back in the Cotswolds for the The John Davies Gallery exhibition opening next weekend. John is a bit of an ” Old Rev Head ” and aside from mildly terrifying me with spirited drives in the country side, often surprises me with some piece of classic racing machinery on display in the Gallery. I believe a few pieces have already sold, which is always nice.

Riding in The John Davies Gallery

They wouldn’t let my wife Jodie take this one for a spin outside. Perhaps this was the inspiration a piece called ” Madame Vitesse ” that was sold to a lady from Western New South Wales.

Welcome to my first post on my new site. On this site I will be able to keep anyone who is interested up to date with new works and upcoming exhibitions…….Something that has been sadly lacking on the old site. I might also add a bit from time to time, to interest the Petrol Heads who are fans of my sculptures. That might be because my works are entwined with the motor car, being that the the car is their origin. Or it might just be because I too like my non-boring cars.

These last few months have been extremely busy for me. It is the time of the year when I have to have another ‘ Pirtek Enduro Cup ‘ ready for the winners of this annual prize. It is awarded to the highest point scorers over the three biggest races in the Australian V8 Supercar series. This is easily Australia’s premier motor racing series, and it is always a bit of a thrill to see the winners holding it aloft on TV. This year it was won by Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell of Red Bull Racing Australia. Congratulations to them.

The biggest reason for me being so busy, is that I have had to be finishing off sculptures for my next Exhibition. It will be another with John Davies Gallery in Moreton- in – Marsh, Gloucestershire. England. I’ll have 27 pieces there. There is always a bit of tension for me, as the time for packing an exhibition draws close. But that was last week and they are now in the hands on the freight company. I’m always pleased to hear of their safe arrival at the gallery. This will be my fifth exhibition there, and it’s always nice to catch up with John and Ann. The opening will be on the first weekend in December, please come and have a look. We are looking forward to experiencing some cooler weather. I’m in no doubt that we will get some.

Bear with me over the next week or so, while I get the gallery and for sale sections up and running. I’m a lot better sculptor than I am Computer Jockey. As a teaser though, these pieces , except the trophy, are part of the John Davies exhibition. If anything takes your fancy, get in early and let John know that you are keen.